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Case against Barry Co. drain commissioner dismissed

Posted at 4:45 PM, May 29, 2019
and last updated 2019-05-29 16:45:48-04

DELTON, Mich. — A judge dismissed a lawsuit against the Barry County drain commissioner after about an hour in court Wednesday.

The lawsuit claimed Jim Dull’s decision to replace a culvert on Crooked Lake in Delton created flooding that made homes uninhabitable.

A judge ruled Dull’s position as drain commissioner gives him the discretion to make those decisions and dismissed the case.

The group of people who filed the lawsuit can appeal the decision, but Dull’s attorney says he hopes both sides can move forward to find a solution.

“The judge ruled the relief sought by the plaintiffs was not appropriate today,” said Doug Kelly, Dull’s attorney. “That doesn’t mean that anybody doesn’t feel badly for them. We all do, we wish there was something we could do, but a lawsuit is not the remedy.”

The lawsuit asked for Barry County to begin eminent domain proceedings so the people who lost their homes to flooding could afford to move away from the lake.